Hostetler Public Relations

Do we do websites? The answer is yes.

Rae Hostetler · Apr 29, 2018 ·

Often business leaders look to website development firms to build out their website. There are many good firms in central Indiana that do great work. The challenge for a business leader is this: often those firms ask clients to write their own copy, project manage their build out and approve steps where they’re uncomfortable (it’s not their expertise afterall). We’ve come upon this time and time again.

If you are thinking about updating or building out your website, keep this in mind. There are several facets to building a website:

Branding look: Graphic Design, photography and the homepage/interior page look.

Branding message: Writing and editing page copy.

Tech build out: The Platform, build out and making it live.

Project management: The person who makes it happen on time and to budget.

SEO: Making sure the right words are used and programmed for people searching for you.

When we work with clients on website projects, our role is project management, writing and SEO (some partners program and some do not). We have partners that are experts in the other areas. The team comes together for a seamless build out and customer experience.

Our advice to anyone shopping for a partner, ask the firm if they can manage all facets listed above. Ask how they specifically do it, too. Be sure they explain their step-by-step process so you know what to expect during the build out. If there’s a step that you’re being asked to manage and don’t understand, stop the project and get clarity before you proceed. Also ask how the website will be used in your overall marketing and public relations campaign. A website should never be a stand alone tactic. It should work for you.

Creating your website should be a great experience with an end product you feel proud to show off. It never should feel overwhelming or frustrating.

How are you communicating your image?

Rae Hostetler · Oct 22, 2015 ·

Employees, vendors, prospects, customers… people are watching, listening and making decisions whether they want to continue to work for you, with you and do business with your organization. Your corporate reputation is directly tied to those decisions from leadership style to what people know about you in social media, your website, editorial and more.

Have you ever thought about how you communicate information about yourself and your business? Is your leadership team all saying the same thing about what your organization is and does? Are you strategic about communicating your image?

I’ve seen business owners place importance on the color of their logo and look of their printed materials, but somehow along the way forgot to create the framework to build a solid corporate reputation from the inside out.

Having a leadership team that can effectively communicate what the company is and does is paramount to a successful business. This team not only sets the stage for creating the strategy, but also for how that strategy will be communicated to employees, clients, prospects and the community at large. Working with numerous clients through the years, no one style to do this is right or wrong. It’s just important to do it.

A recent study from Ketchum Leadership Communications Monitor says only 24 percent of respondents believe executives are leading successfully. It shows, among other key findings:

The era of hierarchical leadership is over, and a culture of title-free leadership is on the rise.
The world is looking to business leaders to rise to the challenges of our time.

To the first point, I’ve seen first hand how a leadership change created a culture change. Leadership moved from a hierarchy telling people what to do each day to a structure “we work for you.” Within a year morale and productivity have increased beyond everyone’s wildest dreams.

People are looking to leaders (corporate, non-profit, government, community) to rise to the challenge of leading. This means building a strong corporate reputation from the inside out. Are you prepared? Do you know how you’re communicating your image? Organizations that are authentic with strong leaders will have a competitive advantage and strong corporate advantage.

How are you communicating your image to build your corporate reputation?
It all starts on the inside.
317-733-8700

What’s a PR professional relationship really look like?

Rae Hostetler · Apr 27, 2015 ·

I got a text message a couple of weeks ago from a friend out of state. She’s a business owner who operates a company providing STEM education to preschoolers. Hot business! She wants to grow it. Trouble is, she cannot find the right public relations company in her city. Her text to me said she was shopping around for a professional partner and asked for details on what to expect in a relationship. That’s not an easy text reply, so a phone call to her provided the following conversation to help her search (good information for any business leader):

First my friend asked what should show up on a PR professionals invoice? She assumed it’s similar to the legal profession. Yes, that’s true, but all PR professionals have different styles. Her prior PR professional was invoicing in 15 minute increments and that made her uncomfortable every time she called. She’d also been invoice for missing a phone call due to a family emergency (she did call 20 minutes late). She didn’t know that would show up on the invoice. I told her she needed to speak up to ensure a sound relationship. Ask questions. It’s the only way a relationship works.

So what does a relationship look like on an invoice? Our company has relationships with customers who pay for service by the hour, by the project or by retainer.

Hourly services typically are ad hoc and can create a hair-raising experience when the client gets the invoice. A few clients still request this arrangement. That ok. We believe in giving the customer what they want.
Projects are scoped and very focused on the task requested.
Retained clients have a plan and we act as an extension of the client’s team. We have focused goals and provide regular status reports with details on progress reports.

Every client has different needs and goals, so these options are just that-options. I told my friend to ask about how someone would invoice her explaining as the customer she has the right to know.

Speaking of invoices, ask your potential public relations professional how they invoice. If you have an ongoing relationship, invoices should be issued with regularity and there should be no surprises. An agreement should outline frequency of invoices. The invoice should state what you’re being billed for in time increments. For example, two hours of time to research and write a news release.

Planning ahead is key, I told my friend. She has critical ongoing communications and projects she is asking someone to manage—branding, website development/design, newsletters and social media, to name a few. A plan does not need to be reams of paper. It needs to be a blueprint that allows her and the pr professional to manage the work in partnership.

She asked, where do I find a good pr professional who is honest and ethical? I did a quick internet search and found her local PRSA website. The Public Relations Society of America board for her city has several independent public relations professionals listed. Small business owner’s do well with sole practitioners, so the match seemed to make good sense.

My friend let me know late last week that she’s met with someone who seems to be a good fit. The possible new pr professional partner is drafting a plan to derive a summary of the relationship. This will serve as her blueprint for work and invoicing and the overall relationship.

New public relations business in a strong economy

Rae Hostetler · Apr 21, 2015 ·

Our blog has been quiet for over a year. WOW! I didn’t realize I’d taken that long of a break and shame on me. Truth be told, we’ve been busy. The economic climate turned for the better. Clients reengaged and we’ve focused on their needs. Business is strong! Thank you.

So what have we been doing?

Full-service public relations. Many of our clients are business owners or leaders. They’re great at what they do and their core business, but most admit they’re not strong communicators. We’ve been creating teams by hand selecting public relations professionals. Together, we’re creating public relations strategies and working in partnership with clients to execute them. Instead of hiring, our clients choose to work with us as their marketing communications department.

Expanding into internal communications. For many years, our team has been known for its external communications services—media relations, websites, social media, sales team support, for example. An opportunity to work with Rolls-Royce managing and supporting internal communications in manufacturing operations came along last year. Through a secondary company that provides public relations staff support, we’ve expanded into internal communications. We have a solid team in place creating positive culture change.

Whether you’re looking to get into public relations or have communications needs, we’d love to hear form you. The economy is strong and we’re ready to grow with it. Call or email us.

Marketing Communications passwords–the keys to your brand

Rae Hostetler · Jan 29, 2014 ·

Do you have the keys to all of your marketing communications tools? It’s surprising how many professionals and business owners don’t know where their website is hosted, how to access their social media pages and how to login to their websites.

If you’re a business owner reading this, you’re probably thinking, why should I? I have staff that can do this. Question: what happens if that one staff person quits, gets hurt or just isn’t around the office the day you need help? They’ve got the keys to your brand. You’re locked out.

Having these passwords is similar to having details for all of your financial and banking information. If you can’t access your bank accounts (or they get hacked) you can’t do business because you’re sidetracked working with your financial professionals and banking reps. It’s the same situation with regard to a business’ online marketing tools. Your website, social media profile and email newsletter system are intangible assets for your company–your brand assets. A business today cannot grow without these tools and is potentially at risk, depending on who has access to your brand information.

Why risk it? Take a few steps now to secure the information and have it at your finger tips when it’s needed.

Create a document that stores all of your passwords: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, web host, email newsletters and so on. Be sure to include the website address, user name and password. Make a note what this system is used for in the business, too.
Do not save this document in a cloud or on your shared drive. Each person should keep the information on a hard drive (better yet a USB drive). Again–these passwords are similar to your bank account numbers. Keep them safe.
Create a team of people who have access to this information. Titles that make sense include management, owners, marketing communications professionals. Consider including someone it IT, too.
Create a process to update this document. Every so often it’s good to change passwords. Maybe a team member leaves the business or you’ve had to share a password with a third-party professional. Updating the password and providing the list again is important to keep your information secure.

We’ve been through this process several times for our clients. It can take hours of research and tracking to find this information if the client doesn’t have it readily available. It can hold up a marketing communications project for days or weeks. Conversely having the information and a process behind it provides peace of mind that your brand assets are safe and secure.